Diagnostic Role of Parotid Computed Tomography for Identifying Sjögren’s Syndrome

Abstract

Background and Objectives Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of exocrine glands characterized by dry mouth and eye. Recently, ultrasonography has become a valuable tool for the assessment of salivary gland involvement in SS although studies on the usefulness of salivary gland CT is rare. In this regard, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of parotid gland CT for SS.Subjects and Method A total of 91 patients with sicca symptoms took a parotid CT, a serology test, an ophthalmologic examination and a minor salivary gland biopsy. At the end, as a standard, we diagnosed the primary SS according to the new 2016 American College of Rheumatology/ European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria. The diagnostic value of parotid CT was compared by the McNemar test.Results Of the total of 91 patients with parotid CT, 37 (40.7%) patients met the SS classification criteria. On the parotid CT, heterogeneity of the parotid gland has the sensitivity of 74.1%, specificity of 70.3%, and accuracy of 71.4%. The abnormal fat tissue deposition showed the sensitivity of 74.1%, specificity of 81.3%, and accuracy of 79.1%. Diffuse calcification was seen in 1/91 SS patients (sensitivity 3.7%, specificity 100%, accuracy 71.4%).Conclusion Parotid CT is helpful for the diagnosis of SS. The presence of heterogeneity and fat tissue deposition are highly sensitive for the accuracy of SS. Diffuse calcification in bilateral parotid glands is highly specific for SS.